TWENTY-SIX

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"You'll have to stop crying now, Eliza," said Tom as the sinks of the first-floor girls' lavatory rose out of the ground with a low rumble,  and settled back to cover the hole of the pipe as if it had never been there

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"You'll have to stop crying now, Eliza," said Tom as the sinks of the first-floor girls' lavatory rose out of the ground with a low rumble,  and settled back to cover the hole of the pipe as if it had never been there. "I can't allow anyone seeing you."

She lifted her head a little to watch herself in the mirror, her hands shaking violently at her sides. The reflection in the mirror was barely recognisable as Eliza Galway; her skin seemed greyish, her eyes were rimmed with red, her lips barely ever smiled.

Draining. That was the best way to describe it; Eliza's spirit was positively draining out of her like water. She was fading away, turning more and more translucent with each day that passed. And barely anybody noticed.

"It's just the stress from N.E.W.T.s," she'd say when somebody did ask, and they would swallow up her words without a second doubt. The only two people who seemed to not take her word for it were Atha and - much to Eliza's surprise and Tom's irritation - Professor Dumbledore. The two seemed to be keeping an eye on her no matter how much she insisted that she was fine.

But it wasn't only that she hadn't received a grade above an Acceptable since February, or that she would stare at a clear piece of parchment and not be able to write a single word. No; much more than only her academic progress was being affected. Eliza barely had any personality left in her.

Eliza nodded faintly, lifting her still trembling hands up to wipe her cheeks, inhaling deeply to calm herself. She closed her eyes, keeping them shut a little longer than what was considered normal. But it was becoming normal for her to keep her eyes shut. It was where she found any remnants of peace.

They left the bathroom a while later, but the school seemed empty. It was rather late, but it was a Saturday and Saturday's were often busier. Yet the two came across nobody as they walked to the Slytherin Dungeons.

Entering, they found perhaps the entire House in the common room, seated on the sofas and the chairs, all chattering loudly. Eliza's brow furrowed just a little, it was unusual for the common room to be that full, even on a Saturday.

She noticed then that Tom had disappeared from her side and into the crowd. Eliza stood still for a while, then assumed that he didn't need her anymore and walked into the narrow corridor and to her dormitory, her breathing relaxing just a little at the sanctuary the room provided her with. Nova and Clarice were both absent, but Atha was inside, seeming happier than she had in a while.

Eliza gave her a quick smile as she walked to sit on the edge of her bed, picking up the book on her bedside cabinet more out of habit than anything; she wouldn't be able to read it now even if she tried. She felt Atha's eyes on her and she knew that she was watching. A few minutes passed until Atha finally cleared her throat and Eliza looked up to meet her brown eyes.

"You're not going to congratulate me?" asked Atha with a wide grin.

Eliza blinked, racking her brain for a reason, but came up blank. "Con-congratulate you?" she repeated.

"For winning the Quidditch Cup," Atha replied, deadpan.

The second Saturday of May, the day of the last Quidditch game.

For a moment, Atha remained quiet, studying the blonde across the room with her brow furrowed until she finally managed to connect the dots. "Did you ... Did you even come to the match?" she asked, an evident hurt in her voice.

Eliza opened her mouth, then closed it again, hating the tone of Atha's voice. "I..." she began, but couldn't think of anything else to say.

But it seemed to be enough for Atha to figure out the answer and she scoffed. "You didn't even show up," she said with a humourless laugh. "You know how important it is to me, especially the final match."

"I'm sorry, Atha, I - I forgot," Eliza apologised, looking down at the floor.

"You ... forgot?" the girl challenged. "I suppose you were too busy with your own things. Or with Tom Riddle. All you do is spend time with Tom Riddle. I barely even recognise you anymore. He's changing you, Eliza."

Of course, he was; fear did that to people.

"Atha, please," said Eliza quietly, not looking up to her face. "I'm sorry. I - I-" don't want to lose you. That's what she wanted to say.

But Tom's words rang inside her head. "If by the time we've finished our N.E.W.T.s you're still friends, she'll pay the price for it." She became quiet and Atha arched an eyebrow to tell her to continue. Doing her best to mask her face into an expression of indifference before looking up to meet her brown eyes.

"You're right, I didn't come," she said. "I just don't care to watch you fly around on a broom, throwing a ball through a hoop. I never did care that much, but I came because you were my friend. But I have Tom now. And he appreciates me for my true value, and he lets me be myself and doesn't pester me with questions I don't want to answer."

"Are you joking? Tom Riddle is not a good person. You've said so yourself!" Atha exclaimed. "What happened to that?"

"Aren't you the one who kept telling me that I should trust him? That he saved the school and our lives?" Eliza snapped, trying her best not to allow the mask of anger to crack and reveal that what she was really feeling was pain and fear. "We owe our lives to him, we should be a little more thankful."

"We don't own him anything!" protested the other, ringlets of her dark hair falling across her face though she didn't react in her anger. "It was the Slytherin monster, cleaning the school of 'enemies of the heir'. Were pureblooded Slytherins, it wouldn't have done anything to us."

"That's some very clever insight. Did you come up with it yourself or are you taking credit for someone else's work?" Eliza said, her voice breaking for a second thought she did not let it last. "Wouldn't be the first time."

For a moment, Atha seemed taken aback. Then she scoffed incredulously, now more hurt than angry. "Okay," she said, her voice higher than usual. "I understand. You enjoy your life with Tom Riddle. I know you pride yourself on being smart, but lately, you haven't been. You can lie to yourself about how you're fine, and you've got nothing to worry about, but I know you, and I know you aren't. I just hope you'll realise it one day, and maybe then you'll regret this ... They'll want me downstairs, I am the Captain, after all. So, I'll go, spend my time with people who appreciate me."

Atha left the room, closing the door with a soft click. Eliza now remained alone in the dormitory. She sat back down on her bed, her eyes staring at the dark wooden door. She let the feigned mask fall off, now tears once more appearing in her eyes as she realised what had just happened. But it was for the best, said the voice in her head. It was for the best.

nawh, this is so sad, I love Atha

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nawh, this is so sad, I love Atha

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